Sister
by Trinity Carrie Fawkes
Summary: Originally published under Trinity the Mad Skribbler: A ghost from Ezra's past comes back to haunt him.


Disclaimer: All characters that are a part of The Magnificent Seven belong to Trilogy Entertainment, the Mirisch Group, MGM and CBS. I'm only borrowing them for a short time and they will be returned neither folded, spindled nor mutilated. Please don't reproduce without consent of the author.

SISTER 

by 

Carrie Fawkes

Chapter 1

Josiah hated the rain. If there was anything that reminded him of the duality of God, it was that elemental water. If the Lord didn't give you enough, you'd die of thirst or drought. If He gave too much, then you'd drown. _And_, Josiah thought, _if I can't even figure out what to make of it, how can I expect anyone else to? I'm just as lost as they are._

"Now, Josiah. You may be lost but at least you know it. That's more'n I can say for the rest of us."

Josiah was startled by Nathan's voice. He hadn't realized he had been thinking aloud. They were sitting at their usual table in the saloon, both waiting for the rain to let up so they could make it back to their rooms without getting very wet. Josiah would have gladly braved the rain but the young doctor had warned him against catching sick. He had yet to recover from a recent gunshot wound and it wouldn't be wise to risk infection of any sort.

"So, Josiah, you gonna tell me what's got you so spooked", Nathan asked.

__

The rain, Josiah's thoughts screamed. However, he didn't envy the look that answer would've drawn. He grabbed his hat and coat from the back of his chair and slowly stood up.

"Something wicked, Nathan, And I don't want to be around when it gets here. I'd recommend you make yourself scarce as well. Good day, doctor." Then Josiah was gone, leaving Nathan to shake his head in confusion.

Chapter 2

The girl had been riding for the better half of the week when she finally got to Four Corners. _It's about damn time_, she thought, peering through the pouring rain to look at her surroundings. It was a piss-ant little town from what she could see. Just a couple of beat-up buildings linked together by a boardwalk. She scanned the signs on the buildings, quickly spotting the hotel. She thought about getting a drink but realized the saloon wasn't the best place for her until she found what she had come to town for in the first place. She drew her horse up to the hitching post and quickly dismounted. After tethering the filly to the hitching post, she strode confidently into the building.

Buck was sitting behind the front desk when the scrawny man walked in from the rain. He'd been watching the desk for Allison Stevens, the beautiful daughter of the hotel's newest owner. She'd taken off on a little jaunt with her beau and had asked Buck to take over her post. He'd only been too happy to oblige. He knew that when Allison's daddy found out her boyfriend was a stable boy, he'd make her quit seeing him. And, of course, Buck would be there to offer a sympathetic ear... and hand.

"I need a room for a few days", the man said. He laid a five dollar piece on the counter in front of Buck. "Will that be enough?"

Buck jumped out of his chair and snatched up the piece.

"Of course, that's enough." _Enough for the room and some._ He turned and grabbed one of the room keys from the pegboard behind him and handed it to the man.

"Room twelve, up the stairs. Last door on the right. You need a hand with your bag?"

The man took the key from Buck, letting their fingers touch. It was then that Buck realized the too small man was actually a very well-built woman. He was so preoccupied with the view as the woman sashayed up the stairs that he failed to hear her parting words.

"No thanks but you can keep the change, sweetie."

Her name was Cassie and she'd come to Four Corners searching for the man who had changed her life. As she changed into a dry nightgown she thought of him. He'd left her a long time ago to the mercy of the very evil he was running from. She'd survived that evil but he wouldn't, not if it took her until her dying breath to make sure of that. He'd said he'd loved her, that he'd protect her. He had lied and she had the bruises and bad dreams to prove it. Now, he was going to pay... _with his life_.

These thoughts and the rhythm of the rain beating on her window, soon had Cassie falling into a deep sleep, with a smile on her face.

Chapter 3

Ezra had seen bad poker players before but none as horrible as the poor gentleman sitting across from him. The man had lost a total of ten dollars in less than an hour and still seemed hell-bent on winning his money back. Even when Ezra had attempted to throw a hand or two, the man still managed to lose.

__

I'm beginning to feel guilty, Ezra thought. He had to smirk at that. _Associating with the honorable Mr. Larabee seems to be making an honest man out of me_. Ezra shook that thought from his mind. _The day I become an honest man is the day I hang it up for good._

"I see you a dollar and raise you half, Mr. Simpson."

Ezra had had enough. "Well sir, I'll have to call. It's getting late and I must get some rest."

He stood up as the man showed him a pair of queens. "Sir, you've been a good opponent but you are just far too skillful a player for me. I only had a pair of tens."

He grabbed his hat and walked out the door, making sure to mess up the cards when he walked by the table. JD Dunne, who was watching the game, followed quickly behind.

"Ezra, what's gotten into you", he asked as they walked down the boardwalk to the hotel. "You could've beaten that guy. You're losing it, aren't ya?"

Ezra laughed at the boy's naivete in the situation.

"JD, JD, when are you ever going to learn? Your innocence is so amusing at times."

JD had to shove his hands in his pockets to keep from hauling off and wiping the smug smile off Ezra's face. Then it dawned on him...

"You let him win, didn't you Ezra", JD asked, amazed. When Ezra nodded, JD grinned.

"But why? You aren't going soft on us, are ya?"

Ezra stopped in his tracks, so quickly JD had to turn around and walk back a few steps. Ezra put his head close to JD's and whispered conspiratorially. "I felt sorry for the man. I probably make more in a week doing this than he does in a month. Besides, he's a gambler. He would have spent the money he was supposed to use to buy sugar for his wife. Contrary to some local beliefs, I'm _not_ a bastard, JD. But, I'd appreciate if you kept this little secret between us, ok?"

JD just laughed and nodded as they turned the corner and walked into the hotel.

Chapter 4

"Oh, Ezra. Its days like this when I miss Mama the most."

It was Cassie's fourteenth birthday. She and Ezra had snuck away from the farmhouse to have a celebratory picnic at their secret hideaway by the lake. If there was one thing about the miserable place in Virginia that Cassie liked, it was the lake. The stillness of the water and the green of the trees gave her comfort. When she was here, she felt safe and like nothing in the world could hurt her.

"Yes, I know you do, dear sister. It's a tragedy that she probably doesn't even remember what today is."

Cassie looked hard at her brother as he lay on the grass, gazing at the sky. _What the hell is the matter with him_, she wondered. He'd been acting strangely for weeks now. She'd first noticed it one day while they were doing their chores. While she was cleaning the stalls in the stable, she'd glanced at him and caught him staring at her with an odd look in his eyes. She'd asked him what was wrong but he had said nothing and turned away from her. But not before she caught the glistening of the tears in his eyes.

There had been other things that had made her wonder. His open defiance against the elders of the house. The hiding of the money from the poker games he was to have given to Mr. Cadwell. Even when he'd been caught, the skinny seventeen-year-old had managed to punch the much larger man in the face before he was knocked unconscious. A cold chill struck Cassie even though they were sitting in the hot sun.

"Cassandra, do you want your present or not?"

Cassie snapped out of her thoughts. Ezra was digging in his knapsack for something. Cassie giggled and bounded to her feet.

"Of course I do! What is it?"

Ezra blocked her view when she tried to peer over his shoulder, trying to catch a look at what he had in the bag.

"Stop peeking or I'll take you over my knee, girl."

Cassie laughed. She covered her eyes with her hands, leaving a space between her fingers so she could cheat. "Fine, there. Are you happy now", she asked, sticking her tongue out at him.

Ezra got to his feet and walked over to her.

"Sister, you are utterly incorrigible." He handed her a brightly wrapped package and watched her tear the paper as eagerly as a five-year-old on Christmas morning.

"My Lord, Ezra. It's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen!"

He'd given her a music box. She knew, then, that this was the reason he had hidden that money from Mr. Cadwell. He'd taken a beating for her, so that he could give her the best birthday present she had ever received. Cassie threw her arms around Ezra, so fast he had to dodge the music box to keep from getting whacked in the head.

"I love you so much, Ezra."

Cassie waited for his response but it never came. When she opened her eyes, Ezra was nowhere to be found. She turned circles in the field, calling his name. _Where had he gone? Why had he left her? What had she done to deserve this?_

"Ezra!, Ezra, please", she pleaded. "Please, don't leave me!

Chapter 5

Ezra looked up from the book he was reading and strained to hear. He could have sworn someone had called his name but with the pounding of the rain he couldn't be sure. _My mind is playing tricks on me. Ha, I'd say in was my conscience if I had one. Anyway, my conscience definitely does not have such a feminine sound to it_. Ezra turned back to his book only to be startled out of his skin by Buck barging into his room.

"Ezra, did you hear that?"

Ezra burst into laughter at the sight of Buck in his long underwear. Buck looked puzzled then blushed violently when he realized what he was wearing.

"Aw hell, ain't you ever seen a man in his skivvies before?"

Ezra collapsed onto his bed, laughing until he cried. When he'd composed himself enough to talk without laughing again, he said, "I'm sorry, Mr. Wilmington. It's just that you frightened the wits out of me and then seeing you in..." He paused, cracking a grin.

"You laugh again and I'll knock your teeth out."

Ezra suppressed another smirk.

"Did you hear it, Ezra? Someone hollering your name? At first, I thought you might have had some company up here but

whoever it was didn't sound too happy." Buck watched Ezra as his friend's face turned white.

"You did hear it then."

Ezra nodded. He grabbed his pants off the chair and struggled to put them on.

"Buck, go make yourself decent. I thought I had imagined it but obviously someone is in trouble. We need to search the hotel and find whoever it was. I don't think the scream came from outside."

Buck grabbed Ezra's arm as he reached for the Derringer on the bureau.

"No need to go on a wild goose chase. Only one woman in the hotel. She checked in earlier tonight. Room twelve. It was strange because she was dressed in men's clothes. I only noticed her when she walked up the stairs, if you know what I mean.

Ezra turned a cold stare on Buck

"Even in a time like this you... never mind. Let's go check on the woman." Then he turned on his heel and left Buck standing in the room, dumbfounded.

Chapter 6

Cassie had just settled back into bed when there was a knock on her door. _Great_, she thought. The last thing she needed was attention, especially when it was unwanted. She grabbed her gun off the nightstand and walked cautiously across the room.

"Yes?"

She checked the lock on the door, making sure it was secure. If her visitor wasn't friendly, she didn't need him busting through the door. She was a skilled enough markswoman but if he got that close to her she was certain she wouldn't have her hands on her gun for long.

"Ma'am, my name's Buck. I checked you into your room earlier." Even though the voice was low and muffled, Cassie recognized it as belonging to the handsome man who had been sitting behind the front desk when she had first arrived at the hotel.

She relaxed a bit, uncocking the hammer of her gun.

"What is it, sir? I'm sorry if I have disturbed you. I suffer from bad dreams and am quite embarrassed when they disrupt the slumber of others."

"Well ma'am, if that's all it is-" His voice trailed off and Cassie could hear him whispering urgently to what sounded like another man. She couldn't quite make out what they were saying so she cocked her gun again and stepped back from the door. She didn't want to get hit if they tried to break their way through the flimsy piece of wood. She aimed the gun at the door and hoped she was in the general vicinity of the part she believed the stranger treasured most.

"Ma'am my name is Ezra Smith. I know this must sound strange but I could've sworn that..."

Cassie's heart leapt into her throat_. It can't be! There is no earthly way that man is my Ezra_. She wasn't ready for this. She'd always planned on surprising him. Seeing the look on his face. But, she had never imagined that he would just show up, literally on her doorstep, after all these years. Now, with the moment she had been waiting for finally upon her, all thoughts of revenge fled her brain and her heart took over. She carelessly laid her gun down and flew to the door, tearing at the lock. It seemed to take forever but she finally managed to get the blasted thing open and then...

"Oh my dear Lord! Ezra, is that you?"

... she was, once again, in her beloved brother's arms.

Chapter 7

Ezra awoke with a crick in his neck and a stiff back. After they'd gotten Buck to pick his unshaven jaw up off the floor and leave the room, he and Cassie had stayed awake talking until dawn. He'd fallen asleep in the only chair in the room. Ezra grinned as he looked down at his sister, who was sound asleep. _She always did sleep like the dead_, he thought.

She lay face down on her bed, feet and fingers dangling over the edges. Her pillow was over her head, leaving only a glimpse of the reddish strands of her shoulder length hair. Ezra felt tears form in his eyes when a wave of familiarity came upon him. Cassie had slept like that when she was a child.

God, how he'd missed her! Having her around during those years, while their mother was traipsing all over creation, had kept him from going insane or from just ending it all on the business end of a hangman's noose. She had been his anchor for so long and he'd been lost without her. Ezra had just begun to find that sense of belonging and purpose again after he had joined the others in helping the people of Four Corners but now.... now he was whole again!

It had broken his heart to leave her in Virginia. He didn't even give her a chance to talk him out of it because he knew that she would've succeeded or, at least, persuaded him to let her go with him. He couldn't allow that, though. He had to get out of there, to make them a better life.

He knew that leaving her with the Cadwell's was the lesser of two evils. He knew what they were capable of... what he didn't know was what might be laying in wait for two basically innocent teenagers. Ezra wasn't about to sacrifice Cassie's life like he was sacrificing his own. As he stared at his little sister, now all grown and as beautiful as he remembered, he made a silent plea with God that she understood that.

Chapter 8

"Chris, I swear I wasn't drinking last night."

Chris Larabee shot Buck a look from under the brim of his ever-present black hat.

"Ok, ok, but it wasn't enough to make me so pie-eyed that I'd imagine something as beautiful as that."

Chris laughed and shook his head. He'd known Buck to tell some tall tales before but nothing this elaborate and easily disputed. He'd been enjoying a quiet, if slightly hung-over, cup of coffee with Vin when Buck came tearing into the restaurant. He'd spouted off with some story about Ezra having a sister who had just arrived in Four Corners. And of course, she was the most gorgeous woman Buck had ever seen.

"Well, I guess anything's possible", Vin said, cracking a lopsided grin. "I mean, wolves can have more than one pup, right?"

Chris nearly spewed his coffee out his nose. "You better not let Josiah hear you say that about Maude."

Buck slammed his hand on the table. "Fine! Y'all don't believe me. But all I have to say is I saw her first." He flopped back in his chair and crossed his arms over his chest, pouting. Vin and Chris met each others' eyes and burst out laughing.

"Buck", Chris said. "Don't you think Ezra would've told us he had a sister?"

Buck shrugged his shoulders and scrubbed his hands over his face.

"I don't know, Chris. They both seemed awful shocked when she opened that door."

Vin downed the last of his coffee and mulled that thought over in his head. Lord knew it couldn't be the worst secret Ezra, or any of the rest of them for that matter, had kept hidden from the others. Little did he know it was probably the one secret that could get them all killed.

Chapter 9

Cassie finished buttoning her dress and gave herself a quick glance in the mirror. She wasn't looking her best after only four hours sleep but it would have to do. Ezra had had Buck show her to the bath house after she'd insisted on bathing before meeting his friends. She may have dark circles under her eyes but she would not smell like a goat in the presence of polite company. Then again, how polite could they be if they were friends with Ezra?

__

No, Cassie thought. _That isn't fair_. She knew that judging someone before you really knew them was wrong. After all, how many times had people automatically assumed she was some kind of whore because she rode with Jasper Hawkins?

"Too many", she whispered, answering her own question. Besides Buck seemed perfectly nice. He was rambunctious, sure. But he seemed very tender-hearted and kind under that swaggering bravado. Cassie knew that she liked him despite the outward arrogance. It was endearing in some odd way.

"Cassie, are you dressed?"

Cassie turned toward the door of the bath house, recognizing Ezra's voice. This was it. Strangely, she felt a wave of uneasiness wash over her. The old feelings of not measuring up to the standards of others crept back to her from some dark place. She had thought she had locked them away.

"Come in", she called out to her brother. She turned back to the mirror and steeled herself for his reaction to her apparel, wondering if she shouldn't have chosen to wear the red dress instead of the blue.

She watched from the reflection in the mirror as Ezra came into the room. He looked handsome as ever in his auburn jacket, white shirt, pinstriped black pants and black boots. The ensemble was topped off by a black hat, which he now held in his hands. She turned around to meet his gaze.

"Amazing", they said in unison and then burst into laughter. Cassie felt her feelings of dread fade.

Ezra brushed his hand through his hair and smiled.

"You look beautiful, Cassandra. My compatriots are in for quite a treat. Shall we go?" He extended his arm, bent at the elbow, and Cassie took it. She felt a surge of triumph at having Ezra's approval but fought it down with a slight scowl. _Stupid_, she cursed herself. _Don't let him sweet-talk you. You're supposed to hate him, remember?_ She remembered. Boy, did she remember.

Cassie was amazed at the contrast between her brother and the other six men who stood waiting for them on the porch of the jail. A young man with jet black hair, obviously no older than twenty-three. To the right of him, a negro who had the biggest and brightest smile she'd ever seen. She couldn't help it when she returned the smile. Standing on one of the steps, a tall man clad only in black save for a colorful pancho thrown over one shoulder. Leaning against a post was Mr. Wilmington, grinning like a crazy man.

Cassie felt her step falter when her gaze met that of the next man. He was older than the rest. Taller than any man she had ever seen. He stared at her coldly. Almost as if she'd just killed the thing he cherished most. Quickly, she looked away from him at the next man. It seemed to take her mind forever to register the sight she was seeing. The buckskin pants and coat were exactly the same. The hair was a bit darker and longer but the jaw was as unshaven as the last time she had seen him. But, she knew who the man was from his eyes. Those eyes met hers with the same startled look Cassie knew hers must have held.

"Vin", she cried out with a mixture of delight and shock. She broke loose from Ezra's light grasp with ease and ran the last couple of feet straight into the comfortable and well-known embrace of Vin Tanner.

Chapter 10

"That traitor threw me every time I saddled up for two weeks afterwards."

Ezra laughed at that. He could just see his sister, with her kind and gentle heart, being able to turn a horse against its' owner. What he couldn't see was Cassie and Vin, together. They never came right out and said that they had been lovers but Ezra could tell by the looks they were giving each other. A man didn't look at a woman like that unless he had known her in the most intimate of circumstances. The thought set his brotherly instincts on high and his teeth on edge.

"I did not steal Chestnut, Vin. He followed me."

Vin gave Cassie a sideways glance, shaking his head.

"He followed you all the way to New Orleans?"

Cassie giggled. She knew when she'd been had but decided to be flirtatious.

"Alright, alright. But you can't tell me you didn't have fun chasing after me, Mr. Tanner."

"Well, now that you mention it", Vin replied with a sly grin and arched eyebrow.

"OK, I think it's time for me to make my scouting rounds."

Ezra stood up quickly, annoyed. He refused to sit quietly while Vin Tanner made time with his little sister. It was one thing to do it behind his back but he would not tolerate such blatant insolence and disrespect. He donned his hat and offered Cassie his arm.

"I'd be most delighted if you could accompany me on my excursion, Cassandra."

__

Uh-oh, Cassie thought. _He's gotten his nose out of joint about something. I best go with him to see what's wrong_.

Cassie stood and said her farewells to the others. She gave each man, except Mr. Sanchez who'd gone off for some whiskey and had never come back, a quick peck on the cheek. The gesture warranted what Cassie believed was a rare smile from Mr. Larabee. JD blushed brightly and got a silly grin on his face. Buck looked far too smug for just a kiss. Cassie gave him a playful slap in return. Nathan said a gracious thank-you. Just as she was about to kiss Vin, Ezra pulled her to him.

"Well, we must be going before it gets too late." Cassie gave Vin a puzzled look and a quick wave as Ezra practically dragged her toward the stables.

Chapter 11

They'd been circling the town in complete silence for nearly half an hour. Cassie couldn't take it any longer.

"Just what was that little scene with Vin, Ezra?"

Ezra turned to look at Cassie, his face void of any expression but blank neutrality. His poker face.

"Whatever might you being talking about, Cassandra?"

Cassie reined her horse in hard, forcing Ezra to do the same with Apache. They weren't going anywhere until he said whatever it was he wanted to say.

"Don't give me that, Ezra. You damn near pulled my arm off back there. What's your problem with my relationship with Vin?"

Ezra's eyes narrowed. So he'd been right!

"Whatever 'relationship' you had with Mr. Tanner is none of my business. After all, it is in the distant past. However, I strictly forbid you to carry on that relationship as long as he and I maintain a business partnership. Is that clear, Cassandra?"

Cassie was stunned at Ezra's comment. But, quickly, her shock turned into a wave of red-hot anger. If he thought that after ten years he was just going to be able to fall back into telling her what to do and when to do it, he was sorely mistaken.

She turned on him, pointing her finger in his face.

"How dare you even presume that you have the right to tell me what I can and cannot do! You gave up that right when you walked out on me and left me by myself in that hell! And if you think things are just going to return to the way they were you've got a big surprise coming!"

With that Cassie gave Ezra a hard shove in the chest and sent him tumbling from his horse onto the muddy ground.

"If you think you have even a remote idea what I went through after you left, you better think a lot harder."

Then she turned her horse toward town and rode off, leaving Ezra sprawled and stunned on the ground.

Chapter 12

Josiah watched the exchange between Ezra and his sister from the roof of the church. He'd been keeping an eye on them both since before they had ridden to the outskirts of town. The preacher hadn't trusted the girl from the second he laid eyes on her. Josiah couldn't place it but she gave him a very bad feeling. Maybe it was the anger that radiated from her. It was nearly palpable to him but none of the others seemed to have felt it. Even Chris, who was usually wary of everyone, seemed taken by the young, hazel-eyed beauty.

Josiah took a drink from the bottle of whiskey he'd brought to the roof with him and shook his head_. That girl is up to something_, he thought. _She's up to something and I intend to find out what. Even if it kills us both_. Little did he know he had company in his watch over Ezra and Cassie.

Jasper Hawkins sat astride his horse on a bluff just south of town. He'd been following Cassie since she'd left Purgatorio with the declaration that she would find her bastard of a brother and make him pay for abandoning her all those years ago. Of course, if Jasper knew Cassie, that payment would mean bloodshed.

Hawkins felt a smile tug at his lips. He'd taught Miss Cassie well in the five years they had been together. She could wield a gun faster than any woman he'd ever met. She also had a short fuse that Jasper had been subject to on a few occasions. He felt a twinge of apprehension when he thought about how she was going to react when she found out he had set her up.

Then again, if he had his way she'd be on death's door before she realized what he had done. The slight smile turned into a full-fledged grin when Jasper thought of the look on Cassie's face while she watched him slit her brother's throat. She wouldn't be able to do anything but bleed and scream while she watched both their lives drain away in the desert soil.

"Let's go, Seville", he said as he kicked his horse into a gallop. "We've got us a lot of work to do."

Chapter 13

Vin walked silently up the stairs to his room. He was filthy but he was too tired to care. _God_, he thought warily. _That Cassie gets herself into more trouble than anyone I've ever met_.

Ezra had been near hysterics when he'd returned from watch without her. He'd said they'd had an argument over something, Vin figured it was about him, and Cassie had ridden off in a huff. Vin had never seen Ezra so upset. He kept saying over and over that he couldn't lose her again. Chris had finally demanded that Ezra go back to his room and wait while the others looked around town. They hadn't had any luck in finding her when Chris and Buck said they'd take over for the night so he, JD and Nathan could get some sleep.

Vin said a silent prayer for Cassie's safe return as he fumbled with his room key. The damn thing was always sticking and the more he fiddled with it the more locked it seemed to get. Vin chuckled, knowing how that sounded, when the door flew open and he went sprawling onto the floor.

"What in the hell", he muttered. That's when he noticed the feet positioned on other side of his prone body. Looking up at who stood above him, Vin had a thought of how he was going to die and then the rifle butt smacked him in the face, sending a sharp wave of pain through his body before sinking him into darkness.

Chapter 14

"Have you gentlemen had the fortune of finding my sister?"

Chris and the others were in the saloon, eating breakfast when Ezra came down the stairs. He looked like hell but Chris couldn't blame him. He knew what it was like to be worried sick about losing someone you loved.

"Nope, Buck and I just got in but we haven't seen hide nor hair of her. I'm sorry."

Ezra poured himself a cup of coffee from the carafe that set on the table, shaking his head. He didn't understand it. Why would Cassie go through the trouble of finding him only to disappear a day later? It didn't make any sense.

He drank his coffee and looked at his friends, who stared at him as if waiting from him to provide the solving clue to some mystery. Or maybe they wanted him to be honest with them for a change. Ezra realized that he owed them that especially after all they'd done for him.

"I suppose I owe you gentlemen an explanation for all this."

Ezra tried to gauge the group's reaction. Unable to read any of their faces he took a deep breath and launched into the story of his and Cassie's life.

Chapter 15

Vin awoke to blinding pain. Or maybe it was just the blood in his eyes that made it hard to see. He could feel the rope cutting into his wrists and he knew he was standing, or at least leaning, upright. Opening his right eye as far as it would go he saw a row of stalls directly across from him. _A stable_, he thought. But where? And why?

"Well well, it looks like our guest has decided to grace us with his presence, Cass."

__

Shit, Vin thought. Jasper Hawkins. It all came back to Vin in a flood of memories. He'd stumbled through the door to his room and been met face to face with Jasper Hawkins. He'd only had time to think of his own death before Hawkins had wailed him in the face with his rifle butt. Then, he'd awoken here.

"What do you want, Hawkins," Vin managed to choke out before dissolving into harsh wracking coughs that brought blood up with them.

Hawkins walked over to Vin, lifted his chin with one hand. Vin watched as the man gave him the once over and fought the urge to hock some blood into his face. Then Hawkins dropped his chin, causing him to grunt in pain, and turned away.

"Now, Cassie, it really makes me wonder what the hell you ever saw in that ugly mutt to make you run away from me."

Cassie!? It was only then that Vin saw her. She, too, was tied to a post but she was sitting down with her knees drawn to her chest. Vin fought against his bindings as he watched Hawkins kneel down in front of her.

Cassie put her head on her knees. She didn't want to look at Jasper, not after what he had done to her. A sob tore from her throat.

"Look at him, girl. Look at lover boy now. He ain't so pretty, is he? I said look at him, you bitch!"

Cassie shook her head and waited for a blow that never came. She wasn't expecting that and this made her look up just in time to hear Vin yell her name and feel Hawkins' fist smash into her face.

Chapter 15

"... when I found the music box was more proof of her death than if I'd found her body."

Ezra swallowed back the tears that threatened and raised his head to look at his friends. He hoped they understood his reasoning almost as much as he hoped Cassie would. Maybe because, at least now, he didn't even understand it.

He watched Chris, waiting for whatever admonishment Larabee was about to dish out. He watched as Chris swallowed, tried to speak, swallowed again.

"We'll find her, Ezra. I promise you." Chris stood up and grabbed his hat. "We gotta make a wider circuit around town this time. Maybe we'll have more luck since it's daylight. JD, go roust Tanner so we can head out."

Buck and Nathan headed out the saloon door and JD went up the stairs to Vin's room. Ezra grabbed his coat, almost speechless. Grabbing Chris' arm before he could head out the door, Ezra moved close to the other man.

"Thank you, Mr. Larabee," he whispered.

Chris looked at him and winked. Just then, JD tore his way downstairs.

"Chris, Ezra! Vin's missing and look what I found upstairs!"

He shoved a note into Chris' hand. Chris swore when he read it.

"It says he's got Vin and Cassie. Come to the abandoned stables on the south side of town, unarmed. I'll kill them both if you aren't here by noon."

Chris and Ezra pulled out their pocket watches.

"Damn," they said, in unison. It was eleven a.m.

"JD, get Buck and Nathan and show them this," Chris said. "We'll meet you guys there. And, for God's sake, hurry!"

Chapter 16

Hawkins was checking the wires around the stable when he saw the horses on the horizon. He pulled out his watch and saw they'd made his ultimatum by fifteen minutes. _Well_, he thought_. At least I get to play with 'em a little before I kill 'em_. He always did like to toy with his prey.

Making his way back inside he tightened the clamps that held the detonation switch wires to the blasting caps. When everything seemed all right he walked up to Tanner, giving him a kick in the gut.

"You see this, Tanner," he asked, lifting the hand that held the detonation switch. "This here's a detonation switch. It leads to that pile o' TNT over there. When you're friends get here, this is my ticket outta here. If they make a move, I blow us all up. If they're good boys you and I get outta here and I take you back to Tascosa. 'Course, that is after we watch us a little fireworks display. And to think, I only intended on killing the bitch but you I get as a bonus."

Cassie spoke up from her corner.

"You honestly think you're going to get away with this nonsense, Jasper? Are you as stupid as you look?"

She couldn't help but flinch when Jasper turned to look at her. She had to buy some time but she didn't know if she could take getting hit again. _I've got to do this. For all our sakes_. She steeled herself for another punch when Jasper knelt down in front of her, putting his face in hers.

"You still think your goddamn brother's gonna save you, don't you? Even after he left you with that molesting pervert Cadwell?"

Cassie started, shocked. Jasper had said many horrible, hurtful things about Ezra, and her, before but that comment cut Cassie to the quick. Of all the things she accused Ezra of, she had never blamed him for that. He never would have left her if he'd known and she had always been so careful to protect him from it. She knew her brother would've killed Cadwell had he known and she wouldn't let him put himself into that position.

Now she drew up, anger making her brave, and hocked a wad of blood into Jasper's ugly, lying face.

"Don't you ever, ever say that about him again! You didn't know him! You couldn't fathom making the sacrifices that he made for me, you son of a bitch!"

Cassie didn't even have time to draw back from Jasper's fist when something, someone tackled him from behind, knocking him across the room. Then she recognized the brownish hair and the auburn jacket.

"Ezra," she screamed. Cassie struggled against her bonds as the two men fought. "Help! Someone help him!" She could hear the horses galloping outside. She hoped to God it was Ezra's friends. Like an answered prayer, Buck burst into the stable, followed by JD, Nathan and Chris. They were all just in time to hear the shot ring out.

Chapter 17

"Don't anybody move! I swear to God, I'll blow us all to hell and back."

Cassie couldn't breathe. She felt as if someone had punched her in the stomach with a sledgehammer.

"Ezra," she cried. "Ezra, please!"

He was two feet away from her but she couldn't get to him. All she wanted was to get to him. Someone had to stop the blood from draining out the hole in his stomach. She looked up at Nathan whose eyes were darting from Jasper to her brother's prone form. She implored him with her eyes to do something, anything to help him but he shook his head and flicked his eyes toward the window and then back at Jasper.

"Jesus Christ," she screamed. "I don't care about him, just save Ezra. Please Nathan, God please!"

Jasper kicked at her and she had to duck her head to avoid getting hit. That's when she saw him in the window. Josiah was standing there, grinning and holding up some wires... and his pocket knife. Cassie grinned as he shushed her.

"What are you smiling at bitch?" Jasper was getting antsy. Chris and the others were going for their guns and all Jasper had was a little detonator that he didn't know wasn't gonna work when he needed it to.

Cassie glared at him and then turned to Chris.

"Please let me kill him if Ezra dies."

Chris smiled at her and nodded.

"Aw, shucks. You get to have all the fun." Then he fired.

The first shot hit Jasper in the shoulder, the second caught him in the knee. He wasn't going to run away.

Buck ran over to Cassie and cut her free. Crawling over to Ezra, she held him in her arms and rocked him, crying.

"Please, Ezra don't die on me. I just found you. I can't lose you again."

Nathan tried to work around Cassie, feeling Ezra's wrist for a pulse.

"His pulse is very weak, Cassie. You're gonna have to let me in there so I can work on him."

She felt Buck's arms around her but she didn't want to let go. She brushed Ezra's hair back from his eyes.

"Please, Ezra. Don't leave me now," she begged him. No response. Then she let Buck drag her away.

Chapter 18

Cassie sat outside Ezra's room as Nathan worked on him. She was barely listening as Josiah had told his story of how he'd been watching her and had seen Jasper kidnap her. About how he'd cut the wires to the cask of dynamite Jasper had planned to use to blow them all up. However, she was instantly aware when Nathan came out of the room.

"Nathan, how is he?" Cassie braced herself for the answer. It hadn't looked like Ezra was going to survive when they'd finally managed to get him into town.

Nathan took a deep breath.

"He's going to be laid up for a long time but as long as we keep the infection out he'll be fine."

Cassie would've collapsed had Buck not had ahold of her.

"Can I see him," she asked when she could speak again.

Nathan nodded. "As a matter of fact, he was asking for you a minute ago."

Cassie tiptoed into the room only to find Ezra asleep. That didn't matter to Cassie. She wasn't going to let him out of her sight for awhile. She sat down on a chair next to the bed and grasped Ezra's hand. She closed her eyes and was praying when she heard him whispering something. Leaning over, she put her ear close to his mouth so she could hear him. She had to ask him to repeat himself and she burst into tears when she realized what he'd said.

"... didn't know. ... love you. .... I'll stay forever. I won't leave again."

That's when Cassie knew everything was going to be all right.

THE END


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